Consequences
by nerdypeach
Summary: Every action has consequences - good and bad. [Modern day AU 'cause I can. Visits a few specific scenes from the manga and translates them into the new setting - to the best of my ability. Primarily Jean/Armin, but includes some of my other favorite ships! Everyone who is dead is staying dead.]
1. Chapter 1

_Welcome to the new version of Consequences._

 _I liked my little idea a lot, and I needed something to write in between working on With You and it's Alternate, so I went back to this one and made it better!_

 _Please let me know what you think._

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 _This is an AU. My favorite ships will all be featured, if not in great detail. I'm leaving only Jean x Armin in the tags, but there's_ some _Connie x Sasha, Erwin x Levi, Ymir x Krista, and Eren x Mikasa. :3_

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 _I had a moment of weakness and deleted this. I apologize. It's back now._

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01 - **Jean**

"Hurry up, Jean," Sasha whined, waiting by the back door with her arms crossed over her chest. She was bouncing up and down, trying to stay warm as the rain drenched her hair and clothes. He rolled his eyes and ran through the back, flipping off all of the lights in the pub and grabbing his hoodie from the back of the door that led to the bar. He skipped outside in front of Sasha as she slammed the door closed. The keys jingled in the lock as she flipped the deadbolt and slapped them into Jean's hand. "Took you long enough!"

He pulled his hood up over his head as he grinned down at her. "Not my fault you forgot your jacket." She huffed loudly. "Oh quit bitchin'. Go home and get warm."

"See you tomorrow." Sasha took off running down the back alley, ducking her head against the rain. Her apartment was just across the next street and three floors up. He sighed and shoved the keys into his pocket before heading around to the front of the building.

To his surprise, Armin was waiting by the front door, his overly-large black umbrella keeping the rain off of him. He grinned and ducked his head under the edge. Armin gave him a small smile.

"I thought I was early." He looked down at the ancient wrist watch he always wore. "Oh… The battery is dead." He shrugged and dropped his arm by his side. "How was your day?"

Jean just shook his head and took the umbrella from Armin's hand, holding it up a little higher. "Same old, same old. Did you finish your econ paper?" Armin nodded once and they stepped off the sidewalk to cross the street. The little alley they headed for was the fastest way to reach their apartment three streets away.

"You still have that painting to finish…" Armin looked up at him, his eyebrows drawn together to make an adorable little wrinkle. "You should talk to Levi about a day off."

"Nah," Jean shrugged. "I'll get it done over the weekend." He stepped over a bag as they entered the alley. The world always seemed to grow a little quieter when they came this way. His arm brushed against Armin's shoulder.

He sighed a little. They'd been sharing the apartment since the end of the last semester. They'd spent most of the summer working on getting the place somewhat furnished. Now it was an eclectic mess of random pieces that didn't match, but it was home. Now it was the middle of September and they were working through their junior year.

Sometimes, Jean really couldn't believe how dense Armin could be - especially since he was so damn smart. He'd been dropping hints to Armin for months, but nothing seemed to work. Armin would laugh him off and continue whatever it was he was doing whenever Jean said something. Sasha was the one who'd told him Armin just didn't notice. Apparently, she'd grilled him about it one day, and he'd been oblivious. Jean was tired of waiting for him to take the hint, though. He wanted a way to let Armin know what he felt without just having to come out and say it and feel like an idiot. Armin had brushed off everything else he'd said, so it had to be something more than just words.

He switched the umbrella to his other hand, freeing the one that was closest to Armin. In a bold move, he grabbed Armin's hand in his own and held it tightly.

"J-Jean?" Armin looked up at him, his eyes wide and his cheeks a little pink. Despite the rain and the darkness of the alley, Jean could see the color in his pale skin, but he didn't stare long. His own flush was creeping up his neck. "What…"

"Just shut up and let me hold your hand, okay?" Jean turned his face away, but he cut his eyes to look at Armin. He could swear that he saw a small smile as Armin dipped his head low.

"Okay." Armin's fingers slipped between his own and squeezed. They continued walking in silence, reaching the end of the alley and stepping out onto the sidewalk once more. They both checked the street before darting across to the next one and sliding into another alley. The silence wasn't uncomfortable, but it was charged with things left unsaid. Jean could almost picture Armin's brain going into overdrive. He smiled again.

"Did you really just not notice?" Jean blurted. He bit down on his lip, cursing himself for his habit of speaking without thinking first. Sasha's pep talk rang in his mind. She'd told him to just come out and say it already, but that was just so _difficult_...

"I..." Armin hesitated, and Jean knew he was searching for just the right words. "I didn't realize at first, no." Jean looked down at him, one eyebrow raised. Armin understood his question without him having to say the words. "Remember when Sasha came over a few weeks ago?"

He nodded. He remembered it too well. She'd been fighting with Connie about something stupid - he didn't remember why - and crashed on their couch for the night after drinking herself into oblivion. He'd been working on a paper for his history class at the time, so she'd gone to Armin's room to bug him for a while. It was only a few days later that she'd confessed about asking Armin if he noticed Jean doing anything strange. She wouldn't tell him anything other than no, Armin hadn't noticed.

"What all did she tell you?" His question lingered in the air between them until they crossed the next street.

"Nothing of consequence, but I managed to connect the dots." Armin gave him a timid smile and Jean felt the back of his neck grow warmer.

"Took you long enough," Jean teased. He came to a stop just inside the next alley and Armin looked up at him curiously. He paused, then turned so that he was facing Armin. The flush had crept up to his ears. His stomach was a fierce knot of jitters. "Can... can I..."

He didn't finish his sentence. Armin reached up with his free hand and latched onto the front of Jean's hoodie, pulling him down as Armin stood on his toes. Their lips met for just a moment. He could taste Armin's chapstick - it was honey. He grinned like an idiot when Armin fell back to his feet and released Jean's hoodie.

Armin was bright pink. "I don't..."

"Just quit thinking about it," Jean said softly. He bent down and caught Armin's lips once more, pressing harder. Armin's mouth moved against his. He could feel Armin's tongue tracing a line over his bottom lip. He pulled back a little, smirking and licking his own lips. Armin looked frustrated with himself for a moment.

"Jean, you're a tease." Armin's flat look and tone made him laugh out loud. He wrapped his arm around Armin's back, umbrella and all. He could feel Armin's hand shaking when he pressed it to Jean's back in return.

"No, that's _all_ you." He let go of Armin and took a step forward. "Come on, let's get out of the rain." Armin nodded and began to walk with him again.

This was the longest and widest of the three alleys. He'd told Armin a hundred times not to walk through it alone. Two homeless guys were huddled under a tarp stretched above them, but they ignored him and Armin as they passed. The city was full of desperate people, and Armin looked like the perfect target.

He could still remember their days in high school. Some of the jocks had bullied Armin, but Eren and Mikasa were usually always there to defend him and fight them off. When Armin had come to class after lunch with a black eye and busted lip, Jean himself had taken on the dicks who'd done it that afternoon. He'd earned himself, Reiner, Bertolt, and Marco three days of suspension, but they all agreed that it was well worth it. He'd had a soft spot for Armin ever since they'd been paired together in biology their sophomore year, and besides… He and Marco had taken full advantage of those three days.

But Marco was gone. Had been for over two years. It still made Jean ache when he thought about him, but he'd managed to move on. Armin had helped more than he knew, just by being there for him. He'd had a hard time with anything involving fire for a long time. He didn't even start cooking again until he and Armin shared their dorm during the second semester of their freshman year of college. Armin couldn't cook to save his life, but he did make really good sandwiches.

Being lost in his thoughts left him distracted. He didn't even notice the girl until she was right in front of them.

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 _Please review. It means a lot to me._


	2. Chapter 2

_Please read the author's note in chapter one!_

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02 - **Armin**

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"Give me your wallets!"

The girl was screaming at them, but Armin's focus was on the gun in her hand. He felt Jean tense beside him. Armin pulled his hand away from his slowly and lifted both of them into the air. She was filthy and wet from the rain, her dirty hair tied back into a bun. Her clothes were disheveled and too big for her, but he thought he could see specks of blood.

He reached into his back pocket, but that was the wrong move. Her hand tensed as she jerked forward.

"D-do it now!" She was terrified. He could see that now. But so was he… Jean was still frozen beside him.

With wide eyes, he watched her take another step forward, the barrel of the gun just inches away now. Her finger was wrapped around the trigger.

He didn't think, just moved. Everything his grandfather had told him so many years ago rushed back to him. He wanted to lift the girl's hand, but the gun was too close to Jean, so he bent it down instead, his fingers latched onto her wrist. He forced her hand to turn, only trying to get her to aim away from either of them.

Her eyes went wide, her mouth opened. Her blood splattered over his face as the sound deafened him. She fell to the ground, her wrist slipping from his grip.

The world lurched to the side and he hit his knees beside her. All he could do was watch as the blood pooled underneath her. He didn't think people bled so quickly… The puddle reached his knees and soaked into his jeans as the rain from above drenched his hair and hoodie.

Her pale green eyes were locked onto his. He watched as her life faded away and her head rolled to the side. Her eyes did not close.

He couldn't look away. He'd moved so quickly just seconds ago, but now… Now he was frozen solid. It felt as if the world had vanished around him, leaving only a sharp white vacuum of pressure. His awareness was split into two parts. He could feel every drop of rain, the warmth of the girl's blood, the cold asphalt, his fingers tingling from where he'd held onto her wrist. Everything else was beyond him, though. All he could see was the girl. He couldn't hear anything, though he was sure there were sounds nearby.

"Armin!"

Jean was shaking him. When he blinked and turned his head, Jean embraced him, holding him too tightly. He wanted to tell Jean to let him go, but no words would come from his mouth. He looked up. There were sirens and lights all around now. He felt blinded.

An officer was demanding to know what happened, but he couldn't speak. He didn't know how to communicate with them. His throat was sealed shut, his tongue dry and heavy in his mouth. Jean was pulling him to his feet, dragging him away.

"Armin." He looked to his side, finding Jean's face. The lights tinted it red and blue and white in rapid turns. "Armin, talk to me!"

He couldn't… The words would not come to him. There were more officers now, some talking, some just staring. He saw a few heading down the alley to the blue tarp where the homeless men were watching with wide eyes.

His gaze fell on the girl as he looked back. There were EMTs here now. They were shaking their heads. He couldn't make out the words, but he knew…

She was dead.

He'd done that.

The world exploded around him. Sounds and smells erupted and clashed violently. His throat was still tight, but now there was a lump right in the middle. He choked when he tried to speak. Jean was holding him again. He pressed his face into Jean's chest.

He sobbed. He knew he was loud and felt pathetic for it, but he couldn't stop. He was shaking all over. His legs turned into jelly, unable to support him. Jean's arms were holding him up. He wasn't sure how it happened, but Jean was carrying him somewhere. When he was seated, Jean was pulled away. Someone had put a blanket on his shoulders.

"Hey kid!"

He scrubbed at his face and took a deep breath. He was still shaking, still felt like his throat was clogged, but his sobs had stopped for the moment. Throwing out his hands, he forced the one in front of him to the side before leaning over to puke. His throat burned now.

Someone pressed a bottle of water into his hand, so he drank some of it. "Tell me what happened, kid." He tried to focus, but his attention was drawn away by the sight of the girl still on the ground.

"She…" he tried. At the discovery that his voice worked once more, he swallowed hard and took another deep breath. He couldn't look at the officer in front of him. "She had a gun… I just… I didn't want her to shoot Jean…"

"What did you do?" The question was innocent enough, judging from the man's tone, but Armin cringed hard.

"I grabbed her wrist," he whispered. His ability to use his voice was fading fast. "Her wrist… I just pushed her arm down… But… the gun was still on Jean, so I… I turned her hand away."

"Then what?" the officer pressed. Armin finally looked up at him. He was familiar, but he couldn't remember why. "Come on, Armin."

"She… she…" He stopped and took another breath. The entire scene flashed in his mind again. "Her fingers tightened on the trigger. She tried to jerk away, but…" He looked over at her again. "Then there was blood everywhere, and she fell."

The officer gave a heavy sigh and climbed back to his feet. "You got someone we can call?"

He was silent for a long moment. He didn't have any true family left. "Mi-Mikasa. Ackerman. She's… she's a cop, too. Or Eren… Where… Where's Jean?"

The officer looked around for a moment, then waved at someone. An EMT was beside him, flashing a light in his eyes. "Are you hurt?"

He shook his head, even though he felt like he was going to break into a million pieces. Physically, he might have scraped his knees when he fell.

Breathing suddenly became much more difficult. He felt himself lurch forward as he gasped for breath. Someone shoved his head down between his knees. The world settled into place once more and he felt like he could take a deep breath. He didn't really feel any better, but he could breathe, at least.

When he sat back up again, the tears returned. He brought his knees up and folded his arms on top of them. Pressing his head into his arms, he cried.

He knew when Jean put his hands on his shoulders. He looked up just long enough to latch onto him and press his face into Jean's stomach, still sobbing.

That girl was dead, and it was _his_ fault.

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 _Please review_.

 _I am a horribly cruel person._


	3. Chapter 3

03 - **Jean**

It was after dawn when they finally made it to the apartment. Mikasa and Eren were in front of him, unlocking the door. He carried Armin inside and moved for the hideously ugly orange couch in their tiny sitting area. While the couch was ugly, it was extremely comfortable. When he laid Armin down, he turned for the kitchen. There was a bottle of whiskey on the counter. He didn't bother with a glass.

"Jean," Mikasa warned, "stop." He ignored her and took another long swallow.

"I just watched that girl die in front of me." He narrowed his eyes at her. "Armin… _fuck_ , Mikasa, Armin didn't let her shoot me, but that girl got shot instead. He thinks it's his fault!"

"Quit screaming, horseface," Eren snapped. "You're gonna wake him up."

It was surprising sometimes to see just how nice Eren could be to Armin. He was abrasive towards everyone else most of the time. Now, though, he was snatching an old quilt from the little green paisley chair in the corner and unfolding it to cover Armin up. Jean cursed him under his breath and took another drink.

"I'll take copies of the police report to your classes," Mikasa said softly. "Get some rest." She grabbed Eren's arm and forced him out of the apartment before closing the door behind them. Jean stared down at the bottle, gritted his teeth, and screwed the cap back on. Armin was still asleep on the couch, but he was too pissed off to be tired, so he headed for the bathroom.

The water was so hot it was scalding, but he embraced it. The steam calmed him down somewhat. He just kept seeing Armin on the ground beside her, his eyes wide and unfocused. Even now, his jeans were still drenched with her blood. The rain kept their clothes damp and the police station had been chilly. He'd have to wake Armin up and make him change clothes at least… He probably needed a shower though, to get the blood off of him.

When he finished his shower he stood in the bathroom for a long moment, staring down into the sink. All he could think was: _why_? After everything, _why_ had this happened?

He could hear Armin in the other room, though, so he snatched down a towel and wrapped it around his waist before checking on him. Armin was sitting up, the blanket around his shoulders. He was staring blankly ahead into the dark TV. Jean left the door to his bedroom open, but stepped inside to pull on a pair of sweatpants. He returned to Armin and sank to his knees in front of him.

"Armin?" He was trying his best to be gentle. No matter how badly he'd been shaken up, he knew it had to be worse for Armin. He just wished he could get Armin to stop blaming himself… But now wasn't the time for that.

Armin's eyes focused on him for a moment and his eyebrows pulled together. "When did we get here?"

"You fell asleep at the police station when they finally left us alone," Jean said softly, reaching up to push the blanket away from his shoulders. "I carried you up here. Now come on." He took Armin's hand and stood up. "You need a shower."

"We… have class soon," Armin muttered, looking out of the little window to his right.

"Not today." Jean pulled him to his feet and led him to the little bathroom. "Mikasa said she was going to stop by and explain things."

"My paper…" Armin stopped at the entrance to the bathroom. "I have to turn it in today."

"You can email it later," Jean sighed. He let go of Armin's hand and grabbed the bottom of the damp hoodie. Armin didn't fight him as he pulled away his hoodie and his shirt in one move. He pulled the rest of Armin's hair out of the ruined ponytail. Armin wasn't looking at him, wasn't moving at all. "Go take a shower."

At the whispered words, Armin nodded and stepped into the bathroom. He closed the door, but Jean didn't budge from the other side until he heard the water running. All he could do now was wait, so he bent to grab Armin's hoodie and shirt before snatching the blanket from the couch. He tossed all of them in the nearly-full basket outside of his bedroom door. Today was supposed to be laundry day…

He collapsed on the end of the couch, exhaustion suddenly catching up to him. He sighed and grabbed his cell phone from the little table beside the couch. It was six thirty in the morning. He was supposed to be at work in just six hours. He cursed and found Levi's number. It rang only twice. He'd figured he'd just leave a message, but for some ungodly reason, Levi was awake.

"What?" Levi snapped.

Jean sighed. At least Levi was as cheerful as ever. "I'm not coming in today."

"Why not?" He could detect Levi's murderous stare through the phone.

"A lot of fucked up shit happened last night, okay? Call Mikasa. She can explain." And he hung up. He'd never once hung up on Levi before, but he couldn't stay on the phone. He bent over, resting his head in his hands and his elbows on his knees. He'd managed to keep his own pain at bay all night, but he just couldn't do it anymore.

He'd almost died. And Armin had saved him.

He cried, and didn't try to stop it any longer. None of this was right! That girl was dead. Armin was blaming himself. And here he was, alive and not the least bit guilty for it. He _did_ feel guilty that Armin blamed himself though… If he'd reacted - _at all_ \- then maybe Armin wouldn't be suffering quite so badly.

But he'd just stood there. He hadn't done anything. _Armin_ had.

He didn't have a reason or an explanation. All he had was his guilt for not doing anything. It wasn't enough. Armin had taken on this burden, and he was to blame for that.

His thoughts revolved around and around. He didn't even notice when Armin was done with his shower. Somehow, he'd managed to find something to wear and crawl up on the couch beside him without Jean even realizing it. Armin's hands were shaking, and his fingers were freezing, but Jean didn't care.

Armin was sitting on the top of the back of the couch, one of his arms over Jean's right shoulder and the other under his left arm, just holding him. He could feel Armin's wet hair brushing over his back. He grabbed Armin's hand against his chest tightly.

He didn't know exactly how the night had gone from taking a shot to go along with Sasha's pep talk, holding Armin's hand, kissing him that first time, and then watching that girl shoot herself. Nothing was adding up, but it had all happened. The whisky he'd chugged earlier had calmed his nerves for just a little while. Now his head was swimming and pounding.

Armin was pulling his hands away, but Jean didn't want him to let go. He couldn't make his voice work, though, so he just lifted his head. Armin climbed down off the couch, but he didn't go far. He didn't say a word, just pushed Jean until he was laying down on the couch. Armin climbed on the little couch beside him and curled up against his chest, so Jean wrapped his arms around him.

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 _Please review._


	4. Chapter 4

04 - **Jean**

He was so tired… Sleep came, but it wasn't peaceful. He woke every half hour or so, and panicked the one time Armin wasn't still curled up beside him. But that was when he heard the pounding on their door.

Armin pulled it open with the chain still on, but Jean couldn't see who was on the other side. It must have been someone they knew, though, because Armin shut the door, pulled off the chain, and let it swing back open as he took a few steps back. Without a word, he turned and headed for his room. Jean sat up, rubbing his face. He could feel where his tears from the night before had dried on his face.

"You two look like shit." Levi kicked the door shut behind him as he entered. He sat a white plastic bag on the counter separating the kitchen from the rest of the apartment.

"What the fuck did you expect?" Jean muttered darkly. He ran his fingers through his hair with an angry huff. "Why are you here?"

"Quit being an ungrateful little shit." Levi went straight for their kitchen and grabbed the bag. "I brought you food."

"Not hungry," Jean grumbled. He stood and went to the bathroom to take a piss. One glance in the mirror and he knew Levi was telling the truth - he _did_ look like shit. His hair was sticking up at odd angles and his eyes were still red. He took the time to wash his face and stepped into his room to find a shirt before heading back into the sitting area.

Levi was still in his kitchen, and for some reason, it bugged the shit out of him to watch him plunder through cabinets. "I know you two have a kettle - I bought it. Where is it?" Jean ignored him and went to Armin's room. His door was beside the kitchen, which brought him close to the cabinets. He flipped one open and grabbed the kettle from the top shelf before shoving it at Levi. He and Armin rarely used it, so he'd stashed it up high.

He knocked twice on Armin's door. "Armin?" He didn't answer, but the door was cracked. He pushed it open just as Armin was pulling on an old green sweater he recognized all too well. It had been Jean's, but when Armin asked to borrow it, he never got it back. It was too big for Armin by about two sizes, but they both agreed that it was comfortable. He stepped into Armin's room and caught him in a brief hug.

Armin attempted a small smile that looked more like a grimace, then stepped away. He went out to stand on the other side of the counter from the kitchen. Jean could smell food, but it just turned his stomach. He knew they both needed to eat, but he wasn't interested.

"Mikasa told me." Levi stated dryly without looking at either of them. Jean vaguely remembered telling him to call her, so he could really only blame himself for Levi being here now. "I'm feeding you, so be grateful."

Jean just rolled his eyes and went back to the hideous but comfortable orange couch. Armin had settled himself on one of their mismatched bar stools. All he wanted was for Armin to come crawl in his arms, but he didn't ask. He figured Armin probably resented him right now. He'd done _nothing_ , after all.

"You don't have to do this," Armin muttered to Levi.

He just shrugged. "Who else will?"

Jean frowned to himself. It was easy to forget that Armin didn't have any family sometimes. He'd lost his parents when he was little, and his grandfather had died during their senior year of high school. When he thought about it, he realized that very few of his friends had any family left.

Levi and Mikasa were cousins somehow or another, but they didn't have anyone but each other and half of the time they hated one another. Eren's mom was dead, and no one knew where his father wound up. Sasha's father was still alive, but he was about a hundred miles away. Connie's mom was dead, and the rest of his family didn't have much to do with him except on holidays. Jean was lucky enough to still have both of his parents. He stared at his phone for a long moment. He hadn't seen his mom in a while…

"Erwin will stop by later with more," Levi continued. That surprised Jean. "He's feeling better and wanted to do something. Connie is taking your place tonight, Jean."

"Is Erwin really doing okay?" Armin asked softly. Jean could still see Erwin in the hospital, nearly all of his right arm missing. He wanted to shout at Armin, though. There he was, worrying about someone who was, physically, nearly recovered from losing his arm and showing very little concern for his own self.

Levi nodded. "His handwriting has even improved." They all knew Armin hadn't meant his physical condition, but Armin didn't press the subject. "He's convinced he'll go back to work soon."

"Already?" Jean asked, a little surprised. "I mean…"

Levi just shook his head. "He'll be a desk sergeant if anything at all." He finished chopping up the vegetables he'd brought and scrapped them all into the wok Jean left on the stove because it wouldn't fit in any of their cabinets. Jean watched as Levi added the sesame oil and turned on the stove****. He grabbed a pack of chicken from the bag and rooted around for another cutting board.

"Second drawer on your left," Jean muttered, "the red one." Levi started dicing the chicken. Armin joined him in the kitchen suddenly and started with the rice cooker. Jean just sat on the couch, feeling a little glad about teaching Armin how to use the rice cooker at the very least.

He grabbed the little remote and turned on the television just for some noise. He didn't like the tense silence. There were too many questions and accusations waiting behind that silence. Whatever he could do to put that off for a little while longer, he would do.

The news was on, talking about the dead girl. He watched, horrified, as they displayed her picture. She'd been homeless, with no family. Her name was Tarah Green. The story ended with something about her death being "accidental" and shifted seamlessly into the next shooting that was worth thirty seconds of air time.

The next thing he knew, Armin was in the bathroom, puking. He was bent over with his head in his hands once more. Levi was just cooking. Jean hated him. Levi was there to bear witness to the both of them ripping apart at the seams.

"Can you just leave?" Jean muttered, not looking at him.

"After you eat." Why was Levi stuck on that? He didn't want to eat! Armin was fucking puking his guts out. What part of any of this situation made Levi think they needed - or even wanted - food? He heard the toilet flush when Armin finished throwing up. He didn't emerge for a while, but Jean knew Armin well enough - he was brushing his teeth, and probably would for the next five minutes.

"Levi, please, just get the fuck out." Jean felt himself crumbling again. His fingers tightened in his hair where he held his head. His eyes were burning and his throat felt like someone had stuffed a sock in it.

"You act like I haven't watched you ball your fucking eyes out before," Levi clipped. Jean wished he had something to throw at him. Thinking about Marco's death now was the very _last_ thing he needed. "You might have been held at gunpoint, but Armin was the one who saved your fucking life. Quit being such a selfish brat."

Armin had pulled open the bathroom door at that second. Jean couldn't understand why he looked so angry. "Levi, please leave." He'd rarely heard Armin pissed off, but he could see it clearly in this moment. Levi looked surprised when he looked at Armin over his shoulder. "I appreciate that you came to help, but I _don't_ appreciate the way you've insulted Jean."

Jean narrowed his eyes at Levi when he smirked. "Jean needed to hear it. And you need to hear this: that girl might be dead, but Jean is alive. _You_ did that. Accept it and move on. Decide if it was worth it or not and _get the fuck over it_."

Again, all Jean wanted to do was throw something at Levi. He was tempted to chunk the remote at him, but resisted. "You're an ass." He watched as Armin shook. He looked torn: pissed off and devastated all at the same time. "Is this what you really came to do? Insult us and tell us to get the fuck over it?"

Levi just shrugged. "I came to _help_."

"You're not!" Armin shouted. His voice dropped down to a whisper when he continued, "It's easy to say 'get the fuck over it' and it's so much more difficult to actually do it."

Jean was surprised when Levi jerked around to face Armin, the wooden spoon clutched tightly in his hand. "Don't you think I _know_ that? That's why I'm telling you this. I wish someone would've told me." Then Jean remembered something he'd discovered a while back from a conversation with Zoe. Levi's friends from college were all dead now, and he'd watched it happen. Maybe… maybe Levi _did_ know what this felt like. He seriously needed to find a better way to say it, but Jean found his anger fizzling away. "Now shut up and eat your fucking food." Levi dumped their food on three plates and sat them on the counter.

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 _I did change Hange's name to Zoe just so it flowed a little easier. Not trying to insult anyone, but according the manga, Hange is clearly female. Levi refers to her as just "her" in volume 5, chapter 20. Historia is also referred to as Krista instead._

 _Don't hate the way I write Levi. I have reasons._

 _Please review._


	5. Chapter 5

_Just a reminder that I am replacing Hange's name with Zoe and Historia with Krista so it flows a little better._

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05 - **Armin**

Being alone was the hardest part. Zoe had insisted that he take some of his vacation to recover after the first night he'd worked. He'd collapsed into tears again when he saw a girl that looked like the one he'd watched die. She'd sent him home and told him not to come back for two days. So while Jean was at work, he was home. Life went on, as Levi had told him before he left. That was four days ago, but he still didn't feel any better.

It wasn't that he hadn't done anything with his time off, but there was only so much he could do with his school work and only so many times he could scrub down the apartment. He'd burned his clothes from that night. He never wanted to see them again. Everyone had been so gentle with him, treating him like he was a broken piece of china. Maybe he was, but he just wanted things to go back to normal - well, as normal as possible.

The nightmares were almost worse than being alone, but at least Jean was always there to wake him and hold him when he cried. It had gotten better. That first night in his bed, he'd woken up more times than he could remember. Now he was only waking up once or twice.

He shut his laptop and put it on the desk by his bed. He'd gone through his syllabus for economics a dozen times and finished nearly every paper he was going to be assigned - including his midterm assignment. His professors had forgiven him for the day he missed, but he couldn't afford to let his grades slip. His scholarship depended on maintaining his GPA. The business class he was in was so easy it was pathetic. After one whole day devoted just to that class, he'd written six four page papers to finish up his assignments. All he had to worry about now were the midterm and final tests. He couldn't do much for biology, since his lab was where most of his grades came from, but he did study. His only other class involved running, and he'd been doing that to stop from breaking down at every turn.

He raked the tangles from his hair and grabbed his phone. He found Zoe's number and waited for her to answer.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Zoe, look…" He sighed. "I need to go back to work, okay? I can't stand being home anymore." He couldn't stand being _alone_. At least around other people he took more of an effort to seem normal. When he was alone, everything would hit him all at once and he'd collapse in a pile of tears and snot, shaking uncontrollably.

"Alright, well I'll put you back on for Monday, then, alright?"

He sighed. "I was hoping for tomorrow."

"Krista will be here tomorrow. Besides, tomorrow is Friday. You never work Fridays."

That was only because Zoe wouldn't let him, but he didn't complain. Jean usually worked the earlier shift at Levi's pub on Fridays, so they spent those nights together. Most of the time Eren would come over and they'd drink and play video games. Sometimes Connie would come too, but they almost always went over to the pub on those nights.

"Saturday night?" He knew he sounded too hopeful, but he'd do anything not to spend another night alone in this damned apartment.

"Ymir's got it covered. I can't very well tell her no." Zoe gave a little laugh. "Keep your chin up! You'll be okay."

"Sure," he muttered. "Thank you."

"If you're feeling that bad, go for a run." He listened as Zoe shouted something to someone else.

He nodded, but realized she couldn't see it. "Yeah, I might." She chimed her goodbye and hung up before he could reply. She was right, he supposed, so he climbed out of the nest of pillows and blankets he'd built around himself.

Once dressed in his running clothes, he grabbed his keys and phone. He put in his headphones and found his collection of music he listened to whenever he ran before setting off down the stairs. Outside, he started to run.

It was dark already. He ignored the people around him. He ignored the cold that bit at him through his hoodie. He focused on each foot as it hit the sidewalk. He listened to the music. His feet carried him block after block. The further away he got from the apartment, the more he realized that he was getting closer to that stupid alley…

He slowed to a stop and stared at the red stain on the ground. The homeless guys were there under the tarp again, and one of them pointed at him. He grimaced.

He'd made his choice. That girl was dead, but he was alive. _Jean_ was alive. Every time he thought back to it, he realized that she'd only really been pointing it at Jean. Probably because he was so much taller and more threatening. It was so easy now to think back and see what he could have done differently, but he'd done what he had and nothing was going to change that.

Levi was right, damn him. He had to accept it. Was Jean's life really worth so much more than hers? When it came down to it, yes - it was. Jean's life was worth _so much more_ , if only to him.

He continued to stare at the red splotch, picturing the girl lying there. That could have been him. Would have been, if he didn't have such good friends. Eren and Mikasa, Jean, Sasha and Connie, Krista and Ymir, and later Levi, Erwin, and Zoe. They were his family now. Without them, he never would have done so well.

That girl… She hadn't had his advantages. She didn't have the friends he did. She didn't have _anyone_ if the news could be believed.

He took a deep breath and turned away. He started running again, making his way to the little park that sat close to the center of the city. There was a half-mile long path that wound around the edges.

He could remember when he'd first moved to this area with his grandfather. It was after his parents died. Back then, he'd walk down to this little park all the time. He'd run around the path when he had nothing better to do and all of the other kids were playing. They'd always teased him and liked to pick on him, so he just kept to himself.

Eren and Mikasa had lived with Eren's parents just two blocks away. He was swinging all by himself when they joined him. He smiled a little at the memory. Eren was pushy and loud, but he'd never been mean to him. When some of the bigger kids began to pick on him, Eren had started a fight that Mikasa had to finish. Eren had always been his best friend, and Mikasa was just as much a part of that.

This little park held more memories than he cared to recall, but as he ran by the little bench nestled between some trees and surrounded by hydrangeas, he pictured himself sitting there with Annie. His first true crush and his first kiss, and his first heartbreak. He laughed about it now, but at the time it had seemed like the end of the world, though he shared it with no one - not even Eren and Mikasa because they didn't like her.

All throughout high school, he and Eren and Mikasa would come here when they had nothing else to do and no money to spend. As he ran, he could picture everyone crowded around that picnic table, studying for finals or doing homework. There was the other half-hidden bench, a rose bush on one side and some other type of thorny bush on the other. He'd hidden there when he found out his grandfather had died. He sat there for hours, soaked to the bone from the thunderstorm that was raging. Jean and Marco had found him…

He came back around to the swing set, but kept running down the path. He'd loop around three or four times before heading back to the apartment. He thought about Jean as he ran.

Jean had been far more kind to him than he felt he deserved. He'd been such a mess - crying all the time and puking up everything he tried to eat. As he thought about it, he realized how tired he was, even after what he considered a short run. He slowed to a jog, but found he couldn't even keep that up, so he began to walk. He felt like he owed Jean an apology. Because of him, Jean hadn't been sleeping well. Every time he had one of those stupid nightmares, he'd scream and Jean would come running.

He didn't know how to approach Jean. Before the girl, Jean had taken his hand, so he'd held it back. Jean had asked to kiss him, so he'd kissed him before he could finish the question. Now everything felt messed up between them. He didn't know if Jean wanted anything to do with him anymore. Even if Jean didn't, he was still one of Armin's best friends…

That girl was dead, and although he regretted it, he was glad Jean was still alive. He'd heard time and time again that no life was worth more than another, but he thought that was the most farcical idea in existence. How did the life of someone he didn't know compare to the life of someone he cared for? Even before he'd developed an irrational crush on Jean, he'd always considered him to be a good friend. Jean's life was far more important to him than that girl's. Jean's life was, invariably, _worth_ more.

The idea that some lives were worth more was universal. Those people who were in a high station weren't just murdered, they were assassinated. The more important and wealthy a person was, the more grand their funeral, the more people who mourned their passing. It was ludicrous to believe that all lives were _worth_ the same. It was impossible to place a value on a life, anyhow.

He'd decided that Jean's life was worth more than that girl's. That was the easy part. He was trying to accept what had actually happened versus what he believed had happened, but that was more of a challenge. Moving beyond the incident wasn't going to happen until he could manage that.

He hadn't actually killed her. He hadn't pulled the trigger.

She'd killed herself. She'd had her fingers on the trigger.

But that just wasn't _enough_. Armin couldn't acknowledge her suicide. His actions were just as much a part of it as her own. If he hadn't turned her hand away… But that wasn't the right route to persue. She might not be dead, but Jean might be instead. _What if_ wasn't going to help. He knew that.

Armin came to a stop at the bench where Jean had found him that night more than three years ago. He sat down and curled his arms around his legs as he brought them up to his chest. He'd blamed himself for his parents' deaths and for his grandfather's death as well. It seemed absurd now, that he'd done that. He wasn't there, he wasn't right in front of them and watching as the life faded from their bodies. His parents died in a car accident miles and miles away. His grandfather had a massive stroke. He had no influence on either of those things.

But the girl…

He shook his head. No, he couldn't go back down that path. He had to continue to move forward.

He _didn't_ kill her.

With a sigh, he rested his head on his kneecaps. He still felt like he had, though. He wasn't sure how to force himself into believing any differently.

* * *

 _Please review..._


	6. Chapter 6

06 - **Jean**

When he got home, Armin wasn't there. He tried calling, but got no answer. He sent him a text, but with the same results. There was a possibility that he was just out running again, so he tried to keep calm. That was far harder than he expected it to be.

All he could think of was that girl.

What if someone else like her had done something to him? Jean tried to remember all of the places Armin said he like to run, but he couldn't think of anything more than a few blocks away. Rather than run out of the door on a wild goose chase that was more than likely just going to exhaust him more for no reason, he went to his room. He changed into an old clean shirt and sweatpants, then settled himself on the couch with his phone. He could wait for a while first.

He tried to read his text book for history, but failed miserably. He just couldn't focus on it. He kept thinking about Armin…

He called again. Still no answer. With a heavy sigh, he stood up and went to the kitchen.

Armin wasn't eating well. Whenever he did eat, he'd just go puke it all back up again. Between that and his nightmares, he looked like hell all the time. All Jean wanted to do was help, but he didn't know how.

He began to wonder if what had happened before the incident with the girl ever crossed Armin's mind. Despite the shit that they'd been through in the last five days, he still wanted Armin. He just wasn't sure if Armin wanted him now.

He wished he'd done something. He should have been the one to take care of that situation, but he'd been frozen in shock. He still wasn't sure how Armin managed to move that gun away in the way that he had. While he was grateful, he regretted that it hadn't been _him_.

Playing the 'what if' game would get him nowhere. He'd learned that the hard way. But... could Armin ever forgive him? He felt like he was to blame for everything. If only... but no, he couldn't think like that anymore. It was done. He had to figure out a way to set things right.

 _How_? It was easy to say that he needed to come up with something to do for Armin, but so damn hard to figure out what. He'd tried to comfort Armin whenever he could, but he doubted that his efforts were enough.

Levi had asked him how Armin was holding up before they left for the night. Jean had shrugged, unsure of what to say. Sure, Armin was attending classes, but Zoe had forced him to take some time off work. He was alone a lot, and that always bothered Jean. He couldn't very well stay with him, though. Rent and bills had to be paid. Even if Armin was going to puke it all up, they still had to eat. So he had to work. They didn't share any classes this semester either, so when they headed for the university, they always had to part.

Sasha had suggested trying to distract Armin, but that was easier said than done. How was he supposed to distract Armin when he wasn't even there? School and work had turned into a vicious cycle lately that he couldn't seem to escape from. Tomorrow was Friday, though. Just one morning class, a short shift at work, and he was free to spend the rest of the night with Armin.

He stared at the nearly-bare kitchen. It was getting colder and colder lately, despite it still being early in the year. It was just September, but the nights could drop below freezing sometimes. Armin liked potato soup... It was expensive to make, but it would be worth it. He nodded to himself. He'd cook that for Armin tomorrow afternoon. They'd eat dinner and watch a movie or something. It was just one night, but maybe it would distract Armin for a few hours at least.

Having even a small plan in mind made him feel a little better. He decided he would even talk to Armin about what had happened before... Every time he saw Armin in tears, he just wanted to hold him and kiss him and tell him it would be okay. But that wasn't what Armin wanted to hear, so he'd done what he could from a distance. The last thing he wanted to do was force his presence on Armin right now. He didn't know how long he'd be able to keep himself a distance, though. Just holding him would feel so much better...

It was getting late. Where could Armin be? He tried calling again, but again got no answer. There was a chance that he was at Eren's, so he called. But no, Eren said he hadn't seen Armin since that afternoon. Worry settled like a stone in his stomach. He was about to grab his keys and coat to go looking for him.

Then the door opened. Armin was soaking wet, dripping water all over the ceramic. Jean stood and went to the bathroom to grab a dry towel. He tossed it over Armin's head and began to dry his hair.

"Out for a run?" He didn't want to seem overbearing, but he couldn't resist after Armin's quick nod. "I was worried..."

"I had to get out of here for a while." Armin wasn't looking at him. Jean frowned. He pulled away the towel and left it over Armin's shoulders. With both hands, he grabbed Armin's face and made him look up.

"You're freezing cold." He couldn't make himself say what he wanted to. Armin just shrugged, then slipped away from Jean and headed for the bathroom.

"You have an early class." Armin's voice was soft, almost timid. "You should get some sleep while you can."

Jean frowned, but Armin closed the door behind himself. He knew Armin was right. Maybe that was his way of telling Jean to leave him alone for the night. He felt miserable as he went to his room. Armin was too passive-aggressive. It drove him crazy sometimes.

But if Armin wanted to be left alone, then he'd do that. He stripped down to his boxers and climbed into his bed. Sleep came fast, even though he hadn't expected it to.

It was almost dawn when he woke up the first time. He tossed back his blankets and stumbled his way across his messy room to the door. Armin had screamed. He knew why, but he be damned if he was just going to let him suffer alone. This was the last time. He swore it silently to himself as he pushed open Armin's door.

He was already awake this time. He was scrubbing at his face with his sleeve. The too-large green sweatshirt fell around him. His hair was hanging down to his shoulders, tangled and messy. Jean didn't say a word, just crossed the room. The soft gray light just before dawn was shining through the gap in Armin's curtains. He hesitated at the edge of Armin's bed for just one moment.

When Armin looked up at him, his resolve hardened. He climbed into Armin's bed and latched onto Armin tightly as he fell against his pillows. Armin didn't resist. Jean felt him squirming, so he lessened his grip. To his surprise, Armin curled up against him. Jean grabbed Armin's hand between them and wrapped the other one over Armin's side.

He breathed in the scent of Armin's shampoo and closed his eyes. Until Armin told him specifically to leave him alone, Jean didn't plan on letting him go. They didn't speak, but Armin laced his fingers with Jean's.

At some point, Jean realized he'd fallen asleep. He rolled to his back and brought Armin with him. Their fingers were still laced together, but rested on Jean's stomach instead. Armin's head was on his shoulder, and his arm was wrapped around Armin's back. Armin was warm now, and his cheeks were pink. He was still asleep, breathing softly on Jean's bare skin. He couldn't help a small smile. Armin would never sleep alone again if he could help it.


	7. Chapter 7

07 - **Armin**

His awareness came to him slowly when he woke. He'd almost forgotten what it felt like to wake up naturally after having so many nightmares. He was hot, which was another abnormality. His hand was…

Armin's eyes snapped open and his cheeks began to burn. His fingers were laced with Jean's on top of Jean's stomach. He could feel every muscle with each breath Jean took. Tilting his head back, he looked up and found Jean awake.

"'Morning." Jean gave him a crooked smile.

He returned it. "Good morning." His own voice wasn't nearly as confident as Jean's, but rather soft and sort of timid. He realized it was bright outside and frowned. "What time is it?"

"A little after eight," Jean answered with a shrug. "I tried to let you sleep as late as I could." It wasn't until then that Armin felt Jean's fingers in his hair. He made to pull away and sit up, but Jean bent his head forward and planted a quick kiss on Armin's forehead first.

Armin pulled away at last and sat up. Jean followed, but he didn't climb out of Armin's bed right away and didn't let go of Armin's hand. Jean was staring at their fingers for a while, a contemplative expression on his face. He almost asked what was bothering him, but decided against it at the last second. Instead, he squeezed Jean's hand tightly before pulling away from him and climbing off of the end of the bed. Jean stood as well and stretched.

"Jean…" Armin looked over at him for a moment, but quickly averted his gaze to the floor. It was hard to try to think about something serious while Jean stood in his underwear stretching. He flinched a little when he felt Jean suddenly put one hand on the top of his head. He peeked up, knowing his face was pink.

"Just do me a favor today?" Jean asked, a small smile on his face. "Try not to _think_ so much." Armin nodded once, finding his capacity for thought severely diminished in the first place. Jean's hands were then holding his face as he bent over Armin and kissed him softly.

Jean let him go with a half-smirk and stepped out of Armin's room, heading through the little sitting room to his own bedroom on the other side of the apartment. Armin shook his head a little, but turned to find his clothes. His mind was a blissful fog, for once. He wasn't focused, and didn't particularly want to consider anything greater than the way Jean looked first thing in the morning. It wasn't the first time he'd seen Jean after he'd just woken up, but it _was_ the first time Armin had become quite so flustered over it.

He dressed in a daze, only realizing last minute that he'd put on his tee shirt backwards. It wasn't until he was ready to walk out of the door that he realized his only hoodie was still drenched from the rain last night. He frowned and went to turn back to his room to find _something_ to wear over his tee shirt, but didn't even make it passed the counter. Jean had tossed a hoodie over his head.

"Figured you'd need that," Jean muttered.

Armin frowned. Jean was only wearing a long-sleeved shirt. "What about you?"

Jean just shrugged. "I'll be okay. It's not that cold, anyway." He grinned for a moment, then grabbed his bag from the floor by the door and lifted it onto his shoulder. Armin pulled the hoodie over his head before copying Jean and grabbing his bag.

The hoodie was, like the sweater Jean had let him borrow, too big. He bent his head as he stepped out of the door ahead of Jean, breathing in deep. He was disappointed to get only the smell of laundry soap and fabric softener. One of the best parts of borrowing anything of Jean's was getting to wear Jean's smell all day. His sandalwood soap stuck to everything and only served to enhance mixture of other scents that made up Jean's overall smell.

Resigned, but glad to be warm all the same, they left the apartment. The walk to campus wasn't long, but they would be late for their first classes if they didn't hurry. Jean didn't say anything, but Armin would catch him staring out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't seem to get his mind to settle.

That same feeling pestered him for the remainder of the day. Jean left just after his first class, but Armin had one more. He took himself to the library to wait, but didn't accomplish anything. All during class he'd stared off into space. He needed all of his faculties for his biology lab, though, so he grabbed a coffee from the little cafe in the library as he waited.

The coffee didn't help much. The teacher's aid was supervising the simple lab for the afternoon. Armin fiddled with his pencil and made a terrible excuse for a sketch of the cells they were studying before giving up the effort entirely, much to his partner's chagrin. The lab was a miserable failure by Armin's usual standards, but he was too distracted to care. Little bits of thought would swirl through his mind every few seconds, but he couldn't hold on to any of them.

He was glad to leave campus. It was just three, though, and Jean would be working until six. They didn't have much food, so he sent Jean a text asking what he needed to get for their dinner that night. He didn't want to do much of anything. Going out took too much energy. He'd managed to keep down his first meal in days - a little banana nut muffin he'd bought with his coffee. He did feel a little better, but the sugar and caffeine rush from the super sweet coffee was gone.

Returning to his apartment in a daze, he almost didn't see Eren as he passed him on the sidewalk.

"Armin? You okay?" Eren had stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

He blinked, then nodded once. "Just tired."

Eren's look of concern only intensified. "You look stoned or something."

Armin chuckled just a little, but he knew it sounded hollow. "I'm crashing from my sugar rush and I haven't had enough sleep." He attempted a smile, but when Eren's eyebrows furrowed, he abandoned the attempt. "I'm going to bed."

He pushed by Eren and punched in the code to unlock the door that opened to the stairs. Eren grabbed the door before it closed. "Mikasa and I are gonna swing by tonight, alright?" Armin just nodded and lifted one hand in a half-wave. Four floors up, and he unlocked the door to his apartment.

The bag on his shoulder was the first to go, followed by his shoes. He was still chilly, though, so he kept Jean's hoodie on. Stumbling his way to the couch, he fell onto the horribly ugly, yet strangely comfortable surface. He didn't fall asleep as fast as he expected himself to.

During the few moments before he went to bed every night, his thoughts would rotate in his mind. Sometimes they would keep him up for hours, other times they'd settle him into dreamless sleep. It was a ritual. With his mind refusing to settle on any one thought for more than a moment, though, he was unable to sleep no matter how long he kept his eyes closed.

Jean sent him a text. When he looked at it, he realized that he'd forgotten he'd asked what they were doing for dinner. Jean had just told him not to worry about it, though, so he left his phone on the floor by the couch. Rolling over onto his other side, facing the back of the couch, he curled up and closed his eyes again. Random thoughts of different kinds of food drifted through his mind as possibilities for dinner, and sleep claimed him at last.


	8. Chapter 8

08 - **Jean**

He couldn't help but grin. Making the potato soup was easy, it just took a long time. He was already done, though, and Armin had yet to wake up. When he'd first opened the door, he thought Armin would wake up and move to his bed or something, but he kept right on snoozing. Jean knew he was exhausted, but he doubted he'd ever witnessed Armin sleep so hard before.

He cut the burner below the pot down to a simmer before grabbing the bacon from the fridge. He thought it was strange that nothing was waking Armin up, but maybe he was just that tired? Today was the sixth day… He guessed Armin might have been able to keep down one full meal during that entire time. He'd probably only gotten three or four hours of sleep each night too, but that was being generous.

When he'd finished with the bacon, he ladled the soup into two bowls and sat them on the counter before adding the cheese and crumbling the bacon over it. He made sure to leave the red pepper beside Armin's bowl. Stepping out of the kitchen, he went to the couch and knelt down in front of the still-sleeping Armin. His phone began to ring, but Jean ignored it - Eren could wait.

With one finger, he poked the tip of Armin's nose. Armin's face scrunched up, but he didn't wake. Jean repeated the action, smiling just a little when Armin reached up to bat his hand away. He curled over onto his side, facing the back of the couch. The hoodie he was still wearing was bunched up, exposing about an inch of Armin's back. He brushed his fingers lightly over Armin's skin, then slipped his entire hand inside of Armin's shirt, very lightly scratching Armin's back.

"Five more minutes," Armin muttered, covering his face with his arm.

Jean chuckled. "I made potato soup for dinner." He pulled his hand away from Armin's back and grabbed his shoulder instead, shaking him lightly. "Come on, it's time to eat." He stood.

Armin let his arm slip down just a little and peeked up at Jean with one sleepy eye. Jean bent down over him and kissed his forehead before heading back to the kitchen. He could hear Armin yawning as he sat up. "What time is it?"

"Almost nine," Jean answered. He watched as Armin stood to stretch before coming to sit down on one of the barstools. He pushed Armin's bowl towards him and smiled. "Eat up." Armin dumped a copious amount of red pepper into his soup before stirring it up.

"Thanks," he muttered. Jean could see that he was still tired, but he honestly looked better than he had in days… He didn't seem so washed out. Rather than just going through the motions as he had been, Armin was actually eating and enjoying it.

"Wanna grab a movie or something?" Jean asked. He felt a little awkward about the question, but that had been their habit for a while. Friday nights were either spent between just the two of them and some stupid movie or Eren or Connie were involved, but those two always included liquor. He wasn't sure Armin was really up for much tonight, though.

Armin shrugged, then looked up at Jean with a small frown. "Eren said something about coming by tonight… I think he said Mikasa was coming as well, but I was so tired earlier, I wasn't paying much attention."

Jean sighed. "Yeah, he was calling when I woke you up."

Armin just shrugged. "Maybe he'll leave me alone for the night. He said I looked stoned earlier…" Jean just laughed. They shared the silence for a while as they ate.

Armin _did_ seem out of it, but not in the usual way. Most of the time Armin appeared to be staring at something with his unfocused gaze, the little wrinkle over his nose was present. Jean always knew that was when he was thinking entirely too hard about something or another. During those times, he'd do something to distract Armin, if only for a moment. But now… Armin was just staring off into space. He looked lost.

When Jean was finished eating, he gathered the dishes and began to wash them. The remainder of the soup he poured into a bowl and left in the fridge for lunch the next day. Armin was still staring into his nearly-empty bowl when he finished, but at least he hadn't puked it all up yet. He knew Armin was finished eating, though, so he pulled the bowl away and washed it quickly.

With Armin still lost in his fog, Jean slipped around the counter. He grabbed Armin from behind and picked him up. "Jean!" Armin shouted, very much in the present for the moment. "Put me down!"

Jean just grinned. He plopped down on the couch, but kept a tight hold on Armin. If he could distract Armin for just a little while, then he'd do whatever he could. Watching Armin just stare at nothing seemed like he was drifting to apathy. Jean couldn't let that happen. He could remember the sort of person he'd been when he was in a similar state.

Armin was still squirming, but Jean didn't let him go. He liked watching Armin's cheeks turn pink as he moved him around. "Come here." Armin wasn't putting up much of a fight, but it was just fun at this point. Jean succeeded in getting Armin exactly where he wanted him - in his lap, but facing him.

"What are you doing?" Armin asked, sounding a little exasperated.

"Distracting you," Jean said with a light shrug. Armin had given up the fight and was sitting still at last. Jean took his hand pressed his own fingers between Armin's. "Usually I'm telling you to stop thinking, but that doesn't suit you." He brought Armin's hand up and pressed his lips to the back of it. Armin gave him a little frown but said nothing. Something about the way Armin's face was still flushed made Jean realize that he was still wearing the hoodie. "Aren't you hot in that?"

Armin shrugged, but nodded. Jean laughed a little and pulled his hand away from Armin's. He didn't give Armin a chance to take the hoodie off himself. Instead, he'd grabbed the end of it and was pulling it up. "Jean…" Armin's flat voice coming through the fabric around his face just make Jean laugh. "You've got my shirt too…"

"What can I say…" Jean muttered, pulling the hoodie over and away from Armin's head. "You looked _really_ hot." He was grinning like an idiot, and he knew it. After months of making teasing comments like this, he knew Armin was finally paying attention to them. There was something satisfying in that.

He wasn't shy about staring. Armin was thin, but well-toned. He'd been running since high school, after all. When he looked back up, Armin had pulled his hair down and was staring at him with one raised eyebrow.

"That's hardly fair," Armin muttered. The next thing Jean knew, Armin was shoving his shirt up. Jean fought back though, laughing.

"Sure it's fair!" Jean was pulling his shirt down every time Armin snatched it up again. "I walk around without a shirt all the time. Like I tell you, it's my apartment, I'll run around naked if I want."

"That doesn't mean that I have to!" Armin protested. He stopped for a moment, but Jean could see his calculating expression. He knew Armin was just waiting for the right moment to catch him off guard. Before Armin got the chance, Jean leaned forward quickly and caught Armin's lips with his own.

To his surprise, Armin didn't let it end with the quick peck he'd intended. Instead, Armin's fingers gripped at his shirt and held him close. He could feel Armin's teeth nipping at his bottom lip, and suddenly his tongue was filling Jean's mouth. He brought his arms around Armin, his hands on his back, pressing him closer. He retaliated, exploring Armin's mouth with his own tongue. He could still taste the red pepper from the soup.

He felt Armin's hand shoving his shirt up, short nails catching on his skin with just enough pressure to make him tingle. Armin's elbows were pushing his arms away, so Jean responded in kind. Armin shoved his shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor beside them. His hands were on Jean's shoulders, pressing him into the back of the couch as Armin leaned forward, kissing him harder than before.

He didn't stay at Jean's lips, but moved to Jean's jaw, kissing a quick path to his throat. Jean groaned a little when Armin scraped his teeth over the side of his neck. Then Armin's lips were at his ear.

"I win."

Jean's eyes snapped open, though he didn't remember closing them. He gaped for just a moment at Armin's bright smile. "You little shit!"

He wrapped his arms around Armin and tossed him down on his back on the couch beside him. He went straight for Armin's neck, kissing, licking, and sucking as he moved down to his shoulder. When he reached Armin's collarbone, he bit down lightly, earning a sharp hitch in Armin's breath and a tight squeeze around his back. He lifted his head and smirked.

"What was that for?" He could tell Armin intended for the words to come across as a sullen pout, but with his cheeks flushed and his half-whispered words, Jean thought it almost sounded like Armin wanted him to do it again. He held himself a little higher over Armin.

"You started it," he muttered. Armin gave him a small, knowing smile. "Manipulative little shit, aren't you?"

Armin nodded once, his smile growing wider. "Naturally." Jean bent his head down and kissed Armin once more. He sat back in the same spot he was in earlier before offering his hand to Armin to pull him up. Armin accepted, but didn't let go of Jean's hand.

Armin climbed right back into Jean's lap, but his hand was holding Jean's above his head, pressed against the wall. Armin bent forward and began at Jean's neck again with his lips, tongue, and teeth. He wasn't as gentle this time. Jean's free hand latched onto Armin's waist and pulled him closer. Armin was tracing the muscles on his chest and stomach with his free hand, almost tickling Jean with his light touch. He could feel Armin leaving little hickeys along his collarbone.

Jean hadn't heard the door open.

" _Really_?" He recognized Eren's exasperated and annoyed groan. The door slammed shut. "Put some fucking clothes on!" Eren's shout came through the door.

He looked down at Armin and found him bright red with embarrassment. He just laughed and pulled his hand away from Armin's. He used his other hand to lift Armin's chin and kiss him lightly one last time. "Come on, we've gotta listen to Yeager bitch now."

Armin laughed a little and nodded. He climbed off of Jean's lap and stood. He tossed Jean's shirt back to him before pulling his own tee shirt out of the hoodie he'd worn earlier.

"You can come in, Eren," Armin called once they were dressed.

Mikasa was the first through the door this time, a small smirk on her face. She sat a handle of rum on the counter. "I'm glad to see you're feeling a little better, Armin."

"You could have at least sent me a text and told me not to show up!" Eren complained. They watched as he pulled out his wallet and pulled out two bills. He slapped them into Mikasa's waiting hand.

"Wait a minute!" Jean protested. "Did you start taking bets?" He could remember Mikasa making a light threat of that nature to Eren one day. He'd been pestering Armin and teasing him, but, as always, Armin just never seem to get the hint.

Mikasa nodded. "Thanks to you two, I've just earned quite a lot of money."


	9. Chapter 9

4

09 - Armin

"When did you start taking bets?" Armin asked, still flushed. "And what were the terms, exactly?"

Eren went straight for their kitchen and grabbed a glass from one of the cabinets. Mikasa settled herself on a bar stool. "Started about a month ago, I guess." Eren unscrewed the cap on the bottle and poured himself a shot before continuing. "It was back when we all started noticing Jean hitting on you."

Armin sighed a little to himself. He'd _noticed_ , of course, but he'd just dismissed the teasing comments and looks. While he'd always known he was attracted to Jean, he'd never considered it a possibility before just a couple of weeks ago. "I'm assuming you were betting against… well, what _were_ you betting against?"

"No one thought you'd notice," Mikasa answered. She stole Eren's glass and drained the shot, unflinching, before he had the chance. Armin knew at once it was rigged. He'd spoken to Mikasa about everything before he'd even allowed himself to start to hope for anything more between himself and Jean. "They were all convinced that Jean was just going to give up."

"Who's 'all'?" Jean asked. He wrapped one arm around Armin's waist and rested his chin on Armin's head. While Armin couldn't say he was opposed to the open affection, it was far different from what he'd expected.

"Me, Connie, Krista, Ymir, Levi, Erwin, Zoe…" Eren went down the list of names with a shrug. He poured another shot and downed it himself, grimacing just a little. "Sasha wins, too, I guess. How'd you two know?"

"Intuition." Mikasa smirked just a little. "I hope they all have my money."

Armin shook his head, but smiled. He didn't feel guilty for being happy at that moment - he felt lucky. "I find it hard to believe that you all thought I was that dense."

"Hell, I just never thought you'd go for someone like _Jean_." Eren grimaced.

"What's that supposed to mean, Yeager?" Jean shot back, pulling away from Armin.

"You're loud and annoying and cocky!" Armin laughed just a little, silently agreeing. Although, Eren was all of those things as well.

"Says the dumbass that's always picking fights he can't win!" Jean and Eren were each standing on opposite sides of the counter, fists raised. Again, Armin had to laugh.

"You wanna try me?"

The door opened, but Jean and Eren were too busy trying to strangle each other over the counter to notice. Armin watched as Levi's face fell from mildly pleasant to instantly annoyed. "If you two are going to fight again, I told you I wanted it to happen in the street in front of the pub so I can sell tickets." He sat a worn cloth grocery bag on the counter. "Knock it off or I will do it for you."

"I'm sure you two don't want me to have to arrest you."

Armin looked back to the door and smiled. Erwin closed the door behind himself. Eren and Jean were shocked enough by his presence to stop fighting for a moment.

"But you're not on the job anymore," Eren said tactlessly.

"He's my Captain now," Mikasa stated. "I invited them. We're celebrating his promotion."

"That's great and all, but why here?" Jean asked. "The pub…"

"Is packed with people we don't care to drink with." Levi opened the bag and revealed two bottles. One was expensive scotch, the other top-shelf whisky. "We doubted either of you would come, anyway." He looked pointedly at Armin at that moment. "You look better than a corpse now, at least."

"Speaking of which…" Mikasa was about to tell them about the bet, but there was a series of erratic, loud knocks at the door.

Erwin opened it, though Armin knew it was Zoe. She was already brandishing a bottle of tequila she'd obviously started downing on the way over. "Armin!" He tried to step back away from her, but she caught him in a tight hug. "You look so much better today!" He felt awkward, but returned Zoe's embrace for a moment. He looked to Jean for rescue, but he was too busy trying to hold back his laughter.

"You all owe me money." Mikasa's announcement settled the room with a quiet hush. Armin sighed a little and Jean rolled his eyes. Erwin was eyeing them both with one raised eyebrow. Levi was frowning a little, but Armin knew he had to be surprised as well.

Zoe squealed at the top of her lungs and gripped Armin tighter. She brought the open bottle of tequila up to Armin's lips and forced his head back, pouring it in his mouth and down his chin. He choked on the bitter taste as he swallowed. "I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

"Didn't tell me either!" Eren was shouting, though the apartment was small enough for him to do no more than whisper to be heard.

"Pics or it didn't happen." Levi had adopted the phrase after it had caused several amusing scenes at his pub. He'd started grabbing cameras before lighting the rounds of his famous Flaming Asshole shots and snapping pictures of those who burnt off their eyebrows, beards, and mustaches. He'd started taping some of the pictures to one part of the wall behind the bar that had a mysterious red stain that wouldn't come off no matter how hard he scrubbed or how many times he painted over it.

"I already had to see it once," Eren grumbled.

Jean had already claimed his hold on Armin, though. Zoe backed up just a step, grinning wildly. Armin felt himself blushing as Jean grabbed his chin and tilted his head up. Their lips met for just a moment. Jean was smirking down at him because he knew Armin wasn't one for public displays of affection.

Until Eren groaned.

"I know you ain't gotta problem with us, Yeager," Jean threatened.

"No, 'course not," Eren said, waving the threat away. "That doesn't mean I have to watch you two make out. It's _weird_." He knocked back another shot he'd poured.

"In that case…" Jean brought his other hand up and Armin was suddenly drawn into a much deeper kiss, where his hands were involuntarily grasping at Jean's shirt as Jean nibbled at his bottom lip and licked the roof of Armin's mouth. Eren made a gagging noise, but Zoe was giggling wildly.

"Zoe, move, you're in the way." Zoe stepped to the side at Levi's insistence, and Armin could hear his phone clicking as he snapped a picture. He pushed Jean away after that, feeling too warm and a little uncomfortable. Erwin was shaking his head with a small smile and Levi was smirking. Zoe was grinning from ear to ear.

Jean tossed one arm around his shoulders. "Why did everyone decide to come here and why didn't anyone tell me?" Armin agreed with the question. Despite having had some sleep and a meal that he didn't puke right back up, he didn't want any part of this little party. He'd wanted a quiet night of peace - no tears and no puking.

"Armin's been so out of it lately, we thought a party would help distract him." Eren poured another shot of rum into his glass. Zoe latched onto Armin and pulled him away from Jean. She steered him to a bar stool and made him sit down. Jean just sighed and went into the kitchen, grabbing glasses for everyone present.

"Took you long enough to notice," Levi remarked to Armin with a dry tone. Armin blushed and looked down at his hands. "I thought you were supposed to be smart." He took one of the glasses from Jean - it already had a few cubes of ice in it - and poured some of the scotch before passing the glass to Erwin.

Erwin took a sip. "You don't have very much room to talk, Levi." There was a round of laughter.

Jean looked to Armin, his question unsaid. "Rum." Armin watched as Jean's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he poured the drink anyway.

"Hey!" Eren shouted, snatching the glass out of Jean's hand before he could give it to Armin. "No way. Not rum."

"Eren, give him the damn drink." Mikasa stretched over the counter and took the glass away from him. She slipped around the corner of the counter and put the glass into Armin's hand. "Have fun."

Armin sighed and downed the shot. Eren groaned. "What is your deal, Yeager?" Jean elbowed Eren out of the way as he poured a shot for himself.

"Armin doesn't drink rum." Zoe was snickering behind her bottle. "But don't think we have much to worry about now."

Levi grunted as he poured his whiskey. Erwin pulled a bottle of Coke out of another bag and slid it over the counter. Levi added some to his glass and took a long drink. "Jean will enjoy himself, at least."

Armin felt as if his entire body was flushed. He grabbed the bottle of rum and poured himself another shot. He'd need more to deal with everyone's teasing. Rum was never his first drink of choice, though it was probably his favorite. Jean took his empty glass and went to the fridge to fill it with lemonade. He added in more rum, but Armin could tell that it was less than a shot. He frowned, but sipped at it anyway.

"Why don't you drink rum?" Jean asked him as conversations buzzed around them. "And why am I going to enjoy myself?"

Armin spun the glass with his fingers, still blushing. Zoe's peel of laughter was almost enough to distract him, but Jean eyed him once more and he frowned. "I…" He hesitated.

Eren caught on to the conversation and elbowed Jean's side with a sly look. "Whisky makes most people frisky, but rum makes Armin-"

"Eren!" Armin shouted, reaching over the counter in a poor attempt to swat at him. Eren took a step back with a loud laugh. Jean was smirking as Armin settled himself back on the stool. He was still blushing.


	10. Chapter 10

10 - **Jean**

Armin was still blushing. Jean couldn't really blame him. Eren had called him out on something Armin obviously didn't want him to. But it was so damn funny...

There were more knocks on the door, and Mikasa reached over to open it. Krista and Ymir were both grinning. Ymir had a two-gallon sized jug in one hand. It looked like juice with fruit in the bottom, but knew knew better than to believe that. Ymir's hunch punch was the strongest he'd ever had.

"Hey guys!" Krista greeted cheerfully. She pranced inside and tossed her skinny arms around Erwin first. "Congrats!" He mumbled his thanks and she went to Armin next, nearly knocking him off the stool with the force of her hug.

"Hey Krista," Armin said softly. Jean grabbed two more glasses before finding their punch bowl. He'd bought it just for Ymir's hunch punch during their freshman year. He took the jug from her and poured everything into the bowl. As the fruit hit the punch, it splashed over the counter. Snatching up the kitchen towel, he dried the mess. It was just the first of what he felt would be many.

"You look a lot better!" Krista finally let him go and perched on the stool beside him. Jean passed her a glass of hunch punch with a piece of watermelon in the bottom. "I tried talking to you today, but I don't think you even knew I was there."

Armin looked ashamed. "I'm sorry."

"He caught up on some sleep earlier," Jean tossed in, breaking up the conversation. Armin tossed him a grateful look.

"You both owe me money," Mikasa announced. Jean rolled his eyes and Krista's expression changed into that of shock and then giddiness.

"You don't have to put it like that," Jean grumbled at her.

Mikasa shrugged. "Would you rather me tell them all we walked in on the two of you making out?"

Ymir laughed. She thumped Armin on the back one good time. "And here I thought you were so deep in the closet it'd take some extreme spelunking to find you!"

"Don't be so mean!" Krista gave Ymir a light shove to her arm, but Ymir just laughed again. "Not everyone is as open as you are."

Armin was staring down into his cup, fidgeting. Jean downed the last of his drink and fixed himself some punch after passing a glass to Ymir. "Ease off." Armin glanced up at him for a moment, but Jean knew the teasing wouldn't stop there. Connie was bound to be far worse when he found out.

"Aw!" Ymir latched onto Armin with one arm around his neck. "It's okay! We still love you even if you decided on a prick like Jean!" Eren laughed and reached over to high-five Ymir. She released Armin to return it.

"Yeager's just jealous I got to him first." Jean elbowed Eren in the side and laughed at Eren's expression. His face was screwed up almost in disgust, but with too much surprise.

"He's my best friend! That's just weird!" Eren gave Jean a sharp punch on the arm.

"I told you two to cut it out," Levi snapped.

Erwin chuckled. "This apartment is full as it is. I doubt you want the rest of my squad filling the place up and putting cuffs on everyone."

Jean didn't miss how Armin paled. It was a drastic change from the extreme blush. He felt guilty. Armin probably never wanted to deal with cops again after what they'd been through at the police station. He watched as Armin guzzled the remainder of his drink, then took the glass and refilled it. Armin had fished a piece of watermelon from the punch bowl by the time he passed his drink back to him. His cheeks were pink, but he figured that was from the rum.

Zoe came to stand by Armin's side, closest to the end of the counter. "So Armin, tell me, who is the Top who is the bottom?" Armin's blush returned suddenly as he shook his head. Jean laughed.

"Jean's a bottom," Ymir announced with a casual shrug.

"How would you know?" Levi asked, one eyebrow raised.

Ymir scoffed. "Because my gay-dar is never wrong. And look at him! It's like he's just waiting for someone to-"

"Ymir!" Krista shouted, noticing Armin's discomfort. She giggled, though. "Armin probably doesn't really know what you mean anyway."

Armin was about to retort, but when he saw Zoe's eager expression, he shut his mouth and stared back into his glass. Jean sipped at his punch. He could see Levi's hand disappear behind Erwin's back when Erwin reached up and gripped his right shoulder. Erwin wasn't having as easy of a time as he wanted everyone to believe.

"Armin will be well-educated by the end of tonight, I bet!" Zoe elbowed him lightly with a wide grin. "All that rum?"

"You're drinking rum?" Krista asked, surprise coloring her tone. Armin just nodded mutely. "Well don't drink too much!" She and Ymir laughed together with Eren and Mikasa. Zoe was still grinning her feral grin.

"Speaking of which..." Jean turned and grabbed the last of their glasses and began to fill them water. "Drink it." He sat each glass in front of everyone. "I'm not dealing with you idiots getting dehydrated and passing out everywhere."

"We haven't even had that much to drink," Ymir protested. He could tell from the color in her cheeks that she was only referring to the time they'd been in the apartment. She was already drunk and he knew it. Krista probably was too, but she didn't show it.

"He's right." Levi sat down the scotch he was about to pour to refill Erwin's glass with. They both sipped at their water for a while.

"Was everyone already drunk when they got here?" Jean muttered to himself.

"So play catch-up," Eren said with a shrug. He chugged his water before grabbing his drink again. "Armin's had a couple of shots already, but you've barely had one drink."

Eren was right, but Jean wasn't up for getting trashed with the rest of them. _Someone_ had to make sure everyone made it home okay. He also didn't want to deal with anyone drinking too much and puking all over the place. As long as he wasn't shit-faced like the rest of them, he could at least control how much they kept drinking. Although Zoe probably wouldn't part with her fifth any time soon - unless she started pouring it down Armin's throat again. A part of him wanted to be angry with her for that, but tequila was Armin's usual drink of choice anyway. He'd watched them kill a whole fifth of tequila in an hour and still want more.

Armin was loosening up a little, at least. He wasn't hiding his face anymore, but was laughing with Zoe about something as he munched on another piece of watermelon. It still surprised Jean whenever he watched Armin drink like this. His tolerance was ridiculously high for someone his size.

"Jean, bring the ice." He glanced over at Levi and nodded once. It was a pain to get bossed around in his own house, but Erwin didn't have anymore ice in his glass. He figured Erwin probably wouldn't need too much to drink. He was sure he was probably still loaded down with pain killers.

After breaking the ice free from the tray, he sat it in front of Levi while he scooped out a few pieces. Eren was still in the kitchen, picking on Armin from the sound of things.

"I just don't get why it had to be _Jean_ ," Eren grumbled. "I don't care or anything but he just acts like such a jerk." Jean smacked the back of his head with the flat of his hand as he put the ice tray back into the freezer.

"Drop it already, Yeager." Armin didn't need to hear all of that. Especially not tonight. It was too soon. Jean rounded the counter and stepped by Zoe. He wrapped both arms around Armin from behind. "He's mine now and you can't have him!" Armin relaxed against him rather than trying to squirm away.

Eren made a face, but Zoe, Krista, and Ymir laughed. "That's how you do it!" Ymir's cheer was met with another high-five, but from Zoe this time. "Never thought I'd say it, but you two are kinda cute together."

"Just don't deface my employee," Levi barked from the other space of counter. Jean raised one eyebrow, but Krista was already reaching up and pulling at the collar of his shirt. She poked at one of the hickeys Armin had left earlier.

"Too late for that!" Ymir almost shouted. "Damn, Armin moves fast."

"No faster than you," Krista retorted. "I always had hickeys everywhere..."

Ymir laughed and pressed her lips to Krista's cheek. "Had to let everyone know you were mine!" Krista just rolled her eyes.

"And yet Krista is..." Zoe trailed off, waggling her eyebrows as Ymir.

"Krista is my queen and I treat her as such." Ymir wasn't shy, Jean could give her that. He rested his chin on Armin's head for a moment.

"Fancy way of sayin' you're whipped," Eren mocked.

"Oh, like Mikasa has you whipped?"

Eren started to protest, but it was a miserable failure and almost everyone was laughing. Even Erwin was chuckling. Levi still had his hand on Erwin's back, though it wasn't as noticeable from this angle. He doubted they would stay long. In truth, Jean wanted everyone to leave. He never wanted this party.

Once glance at the clock and he was surprised to find that it was already after midnight. The drinks weren't refilled as fast, though the hunch punch was now almost gone. Armin had abandoned his drink in favor of the fruit from the bowl, but Jean stole the next two pieces he grabbed. It was just as strong as he thought it was.

"Ymir," Jean said, interrupting her conversation with Zoe. She looked over at him. "Did you put rum in the punch this time?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I guess I did. Almost forgot about that." A wide grin broke out over her face. He could feel one of Armin's hands brushing over his thigh, though he doubted Ymir could see that. "Hey Armin, you know the fruit is pretty potent, right?"

Armin nodded. "It's delicious." Ymir snickered and grabbed two pieces. She fed one to Krista and popped the other into her mouth. Armin was fidgeting again, but not from embarrassment.

Jean stepped away from him and went back into the kitchen and gave everyone more water. He snatched up a few more pieces of fruit. He was laughing at the bits of conversation he was catching. He watched them all. Mikasa hadn't had much to drink either, but he assumed that was because Erwin was sitting so close. Eren was shouting rather than speaking. Levi actually laughed a little at one of Zoe's shit jokes. Erwin didn't look like he was in as much pain. Krista was sitting, but she kept latching onto Ymir to stay in the stool. For as much as Ymir had had to drink, she wasn't as far gone as he'd expected. Zoe's tequila was almost gone, and she was leaning heavily on the counter between Armin and Krista.

Armin was staring at Jean. He couldn't recall ever seeing a look like that on Armin's face. It was drunken desire, he supposed, but it was intense and calculating. He felt his neck grow hot.

"We're heading out." Levi grabbed the scotch, but left the whisky and Coke. He looked at Jean. "I expect you at work." Jean nodded once.

The goodbyes circulated quickly. Levi didn't touch Erwin again until the door was almost closed behind them, but Jean caught him with his hand on Erwin's back once more. He'd never really considered how hard Erwin's missing arm was affecting Levi. He knew it couldn't be easy for either of them.

Krista was yawning just a short while later, so Ymir gathered her up and helped her out the door. They left with their own flurry of farewells. Jean shouted after them to text him when they made it back. They had the longest walk of anyone, since their apartment was right next to the campus. Jean began to gather all of the glasses. He put them all into the sink but didn't bother to wash them. He'd do it tomorrow.

"Come on Eren, let's go home too." Mikasa stood up and gave Jean a pointed look before eyeing Armin. Somehow, Armin's expression had intensified even more. He was only half listening to Zoe as she babbled in his ear. He nodded once at Mikasa.

"Aw!" Zoe moaned. "But this party was so short!" Jean sat a second glass of water in front of Zoe. He couldn't let her leave. She'd fall and break her neck just trying to get down the stairs.

"Drink." Zoe did, and Eren and Mikasa grabbed their bottle.

"Don't wake up the whole building, alright?" Eren gave Jean a suggestive look over his shoulder, but Jean just rolled his eyes. Eren and Mikasa lived two floors down and on the opposite side of the building.

"Good night," Armin called after them. They waved and shut the door. Jean swiped up the rest of the glasses before tucking the whisky and Coke away in a cabinet.


End file.
